When you ask Google.com about "sátánizmus" (it's "Satanism" in Hungarian language), my website is the first on the list. As far as I know, my site is the only one in Hungarian about the "real" Satanism, and I thought about starting a forum there. To somewhat protect it from the shit-disturbers, the members would belong to certain groups with various levels of clearance. At the registration I plan to ask the applicant to quote a randomly selected section from The Satanic Bible, e.g. "Quote the first _whole_ sentence on the top of page 82", and the correct answer would be "This would apply in the majority of cases, but there will always be those who work better under pressure." If the applicant responds correctly, I'll know at least s/he had access to a real copy of the book.

But there might be a problem. I don't know if there're multiple versions (concerning the layout or editing) of TSB, since a differently printed version would make it impossible to refer to the text the aforementioned way. The "Book of Satan" is just too short to use it like this.

Well, the different translations of TSB have different covers, and I would assume they have different page listings. For example, the Czech translation is a very large hardback, and the German version is TSB and TSR compiled into one book.As far as I know, the only English editions of TSB are the Avon Books paperback and the University Books hardcover (which is extremely rare and goes for several hundred dollars now). If you are referring specifically to the English version on your website, I don' t think you have anything to worry about.

_________________________Some boys grow up into men who can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning, and others just go along with the crowd, forgetting after a while that they ever had a choice. ---Roger Ebert

Interesting. I'm not aware of any layout variations between editions, though I've never examined, say, a first edition Avon. However, it seems unlikely that anyone is going to be using an early edition, or a University Press edition.

Dr. LaVey's other books, such as The Devil's Notebook, are still in early editions. However, they're also both more uncommon and less essential than They Satanic Bible.

I might suggest that for this system, you proceed as planned with The Satanic Bible, and if any consistently wrong applications appear that still quote The Satanic Bible accurately, you'd know there was a problem in editions.

You could also specify the edition to use, and request that applicants email you if they have a different edition.

_________________________"The devil I'll bring you," answered Hagen. "I have enough to carry with my shield and breastplate; my helm is bright, the sword is in my hand, therefore I bring you naught."

I have quite a collection of Satanic Bibles and various other books by and regarding Anton LaVey. I know in the First edition United Kingdom Satanic Bible the wording is different. The wording WILL vary due to translations or even different publishers.

I attatched a picture for you . I think you could ask for lines from the Satanic Bible or any other book and judge whether the replies are close to the exact words in your choice of book.

I think you should ask questions concerning the content of the Satanic bible, rather than something related to a specific page number.

This will guarantee the applicant has not just read the Satanic Bible, but he has understood it. It also will weed out people who just did a short run to the bookstore and checked out what is written on that specific page, without even buying the book.

_________________________You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.Robert A. Heinlein

Perhaps, as Tha Pig suggested, you'd be better off using content rather than specific sentences/page criteria. That way, you could still find out if they do have a copy of TSB without having to fuss over the "page issue".

Different examples/suggestions...

"What is the fifth infernal name mentionned in the chapter of the same title?" The reply would be "Amon", no matter which edition the user possess.

This could also be applied to Enochian Calls, such as "What is the first fully capitalized Enochian word in the Second Enochian Call?" Reply would, again, invariably be "IA-I-DON"

Perhaps you could ask a specific thing to be completed, such as: "Please add the subtitle to this essay: Indulgence... Not compulsion." The reply would be "The highest plateau of human development is awareness of the flesh!"

Etc., etc. I think I made my suggestions clear enough. Have fun in your endeavour and excel!

I'm sure you're very proud of your library (thanks for the scan!), and your advice is very reasonable, but my real intention with this test is to learn if the applicant has a "real" copy, since he could have downloaded it from somewhere, and I do not wish to invite petty thieves to the "virtual inner sanctum". Sorry if my bad English mislead you.

(That hardcover edition is like a preacher's book... Very impressive! I wish the next/new edition of the TSB will be standardized like this.)

Quote:It also will weed out people who just did a short run to the bookstore and checked out what is written on that specific page, without even buying the book.

My task is a bit easier in this matter like yours would be, as in Hungary currently there are no bookstores which sell any of LaVey's books. His works aren't even translated yet, and sadly I haven't heard if anyone is planning to publish it here. (I once received by e-mail a primitive translation of the Book of Lucifer, but it was full of mistranslations and mistakes, and when I sent my comments back to the guy, he must have been offended since I haven't heard of him. Luckily I didn't encounter that, or other Hungarian translations yet.)

So if a Hungarian would like to get a copy, he has to order it from a store which sells foreign-language books (and he has to wait a few weeks to get it) or from amazon.co.uk or such site. Or... he could steal it from the web. And I don't want to tolerate this latter behavior, since if I could have buy LaVey's books, then it is possible, and anyone can do it. Considering all the taxes, the books aren't much more expensive than a similar Hungarian book would be. (I know exactly how it feels if others steal my work, so there's no excuse.)

(I have corrected some grammar mistakes. And perhaps made new ones... )

Quote:Etc., etc. I think I made my suggestions clear enough. Have fun in your endeavour and excel!

Yes, yes, everything is very clear, and thank you very much for your kind words! I will keep my Scythe to be the first hit on google.com when someone wants to read about Satanism in my mother-language.

It's a bit hard for me to grasp why wouldn't be anyone interested in TSR after reading TSB. Maybe they're disappointed because the lack of hamster-sacrifice rites.

I wonder if there is a website where one could check the available editions and translations of LaVey's books... Once I have corresponded with a fellow Hungarian living in Germany who was interested in reading The Satanic Bible, but she didn't speak English, so I could advice her to get the German translation which I knew to exist, but I don't know what would I do if someone from -- say -- Lybia had an interest in educating himself...

Quote: It's a bit hard for me to grasp why wouldn't be anyone interested in TSR after reading TSB.

Well, first there will be many people who buy or order TSB (or get it as a present) who will be disappointed when they read it, because they expected something different.

Furthermore, there will be many people who simply won't grasp what Satanism is or who can't identify with what Dr.LaVey wrote.

These large groups of people will probably not read TSR.

And even those who read TSB and find there is a name for their inherent philosophy and way of life do not necessarily need to read TSR, because not every Satanist practices Greater Magic and might therefore not be interested in a book about ritual magic.

Those Satanists, however, who use Greater Magic to obtain their personal goals, will find the basic structure of the Satanic ritual in TSB and therefore also don't need to read TSR.

These are possible reasons, as I see it, why TSR is sold not as often as TSB.

Another avenue you ought to explore is getting in contact with the CoS itself and see if they have anyone who could translate the book into hungarian. I understand how difficult it can ber to get rare books and ones in English that you simply cannot find anywhere else. I'm still looking for a decent Avon Books version of the Satanic Witch that I don't have to pay over cover price for so i'm checking every bookstore in the area that i live trusting that eventually my judgment will pay off in my favor and I'll have the compleat set of LaVeyan books TSB, TSR, and TSW.